News & Initiatives

World Water Day takes place on March 22. Each year this global event focuses on a specific aspect of our relationship with water. The theme for 2017 is WASTEWATER.

‘There is no such thing as waste water; only water wasted.’*

‘Globally, the vast majority of all the wastewater from our homes, cities, industry and agriculture flows back to nature without being treated or reused – polluting the environment, and losing valuable nutrients and other recoverable materials.

Instead of wasting wastewater, we need to reduce and reuse it. In our homes, we can reuse greywater on our gardens and plots. In our cities, we can treat and reuse wastewater for green spaces. In industry and agriculture, we can treat and recycle discharge for things like cooling systems and irrigation.

By exploiting this valuable resource, we will make the water cycle work better for every living thing. And we will help achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 6 target to halve the proportion of untreated wastewater and increase water recycling and safe reuse.’http://www.worldwaterday.org/More factshere.

‘With more than one hundred First Nations under a boil-water advisory and many others grappling with aging or inadequate treatment systems, a new national poll by Probe Research Inc. suggests significant public support exists for improvements to drinking water on reserves.’ Three in four Canadians (74%) who responded to the online poll ‘agree water infrastructure in many First Nations communities is unacceptable and must be fixed immediately.’ The results of the poll were made public on October 18, 2016.

Lead is a neurotoxin, a carcinogen and a heavy metal that bio-accumulates in the body. It is dangerous to everyone and particularly to children. Once ingested, it may be stored in the bones and soft tissues for decades. Even extremely low levels of exposure are toxic and very difficult to eliminate. Lead gets into water from the corrosion of plumbing parts (such as the solder used to join copper pipes) and from brass fittings and faucets.

Most Vulnerable: young children and pregnant mothers

Lead has a toxic effect on the brain, especially the developing brains of young children. Exposure can lead to lowered IQ, emotional reactivity, aggression, and diminished social functioning.
There is no safe level for lead. Its presence is complicated by the fact that it cannot be detected in water by sight, smell or taste. Testing is the only way to detect lead in water.
Adverse consequences are most significant for young children and pregnant women. Potential effects to lead exposure during pregnancy include premature births, smaller babies, decreased mental ability in the infant, learning difficulties, and reduced growth in young children.
Lead free water is particularly important for infants whose formula is prepared by adding water to liquid concentrate or powder.

Lead in Drinking Water – the problem is at home

Unlike most other drinking water contaminants, lead is usually not in water before it reaches your home or workplace. It comes from contact with lead service lines (water pipes that link a house to the main water supply), lead solder used to join pipes, or form brass plumbing fixtures such as faucets.

Lead Levels in Drinking Water: 4 significant factors

1. Greater risk of lead in older homes

Older homes built prior to the mid-1950’s are more likely to have lead pipes and service lines, especially in provinces east of British Columbia

“The City of Vancouver conducted a lead service replacement program in the ‘80s to remove lead water services to the property line. According to staff who were involved in the replacement program, they do not recall seeing any lead service on private property. Galvanized pipes was the common material on private property (in Vancouver) as it was much less expensive…For residents who have particular concerns about metals from aged household plumbing, there are a number of CAEAL accredited private laboratories who offer testing services.” – Jennifer Bailey, Water Quality Department, City of Vancouver, Jan 2007

In Vancouver BC, homes built between the mid 1950’s and 1989 are not likely to have lead pipes or service lines but may have lead in some fixtures or lead solder used to join pipes.
Homes built after 1989 are unlikely to have any lead in pipes, service lines, solder or pipe connections.
In other parts of Canada, plumbing containing lead, including service lines, are more likely to still be in place especially in older buildings.

2. pH influences lead content in water

Lead-based pipes and other plumbing materials corrode if water has a low pH (is very acidic) or if its alkalinity (the ability of the water to stabilize the pH) is too low.The optimal pH of water for controlling lead corrosion is between 7.5 and 9.5.Water supplied to Metro Vancouver is naturally acidic (low pH). Metro Vancouver adjusts the pH of tap to offset this corrosive effect.

3. Lead leaches into stagnant water

Lead levels increase significantly in ‘standing’ water (that is water that sits unused in pipes overnight or for extended periods of time). For this reason municipalities advise people who live in older homes to run their tap water first thing in the morning (and after returning home from work) until water runs cold to flush any standing water. Periodically, remove and clean all faucet aerators.Ontario’s Ministry of the Environment advises that people in homes with lead service lines should flush standing water for at least 5 minutes.

4. Warm water increases lead levels

Never use hot water for drinking, cooking, or especially for making baby formula. Heat increases the leaching of lead into water.

Identifying Lead Pipes in Your Home

lead pipe

copper pipe

Your water service line is the pipe that enters your home through the wall or floor in your basement and is connected to your water meter. Service lines are typically made of lead or copper. Lead service lines are silver/grey in colour. Lead is soft and non-magnetic. It can be easily engraved with a sharp stick or metal nail. Copper pipe, on the other hand, is the same colour as a penny.
If your house is connected by a lead service line and/or you have concerns about the quality of your water, please contact your municipality.

Health Canada Guidelines for lead in drinking water
Health Canada’s Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality currently set the maximum acceptable concentration of lead content in drinking water at 0.010 mg/L.

0.010 mg/L is the same as 10 µg/dL or 10 parts per billion (ppb).
1 ppb is comparable to 1 second in 32 years, or 1¢ in $10,000,000.

It is controversial that, in Canada, this standard is measured using a free flowing water sample (after the water has run for some time). In the U.S water is tested for lead at first draw.
Health Canada also says: ‘No “safe” level of exposure to lead has been identified. Recent scientific studies indicate that health effects may be occurring in children at blood lead levels below 10 µg/dL, [the current Canadian Guideline] which was once considered a “safe” level.’

New ‘Lead-Free’ Rule in U.S.
In 2014 the term ‘lead-free’ was updated from not more than 8% lead content to mean “not more than a weighted average of 0.25% lead when used with respect to the wetted surfaces of pipes, pipe fittings, plumbing fittings and fixtures.”

How to Protect Yourself from Lead in Drinking Water

Use a point-of-use filtration system certified to NSF/ANSI Standard 53 for the removal of lead.
Be sure to replace filter cartridges at regular, recommended intervals to ensure sustained protection.
Boiling water will NOT remove lead.
All pipes, pipe fittings, plumbing fittings and fixtures that come in contact with drinking water should meet the low-lead rule.

DisclaimerThe information and recommendations provided on this website have not been evaluated by Health Canada and are for educational purposes only. The products and information offered on this site are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. You should always ask your doctor before using any products.

World Water Day happens annually on March 22. Attention to this event increases each year as the endangered state of water and waterways becomes increasingly apparent to the general public. The accelerating impact of climate change, population growth, urban sprawl, industrialization, pollution and over-extraction are apparent everywhere, including in Metro Vancouver.

Mid-winter rains make it easy to forget the drought we experienced here in British Columbia in the summer of 2015. However the consequences of warmer temperatures and diminished snow pack are all around us. Water rationing, at least during summer months, is here to stay even in ‘water-rich’ coastal British Columbia.

Theme for World Water Day 2016 – Better Water, Better Jobs

Water is an essential factor in virtually every aspect of life. Each year the United Nations assigns a specific water related theme to be the focus of World Water Day. For 2016 the theme is ‘Water and Jobs’. Sufficient water, of good quality, is essential to life and livelihoods. Societies and economies are enabled or crushed by the availability and quality of local water.

Some current water issues… in British Columbia

Seven rivers in British Columbia have been identified in 2016 as endangered: the Seymour, Fraser, Cowichan, Thompson, Peace and Skeena Rivers and Shawnigan Creek.

Residents of Shawnigan Lake on Vancouver Island are fighting to keep toxic waste out of their watershed.

The Peace River Valley in northeastern BC is in danger of being submerged if the Site C dam project is allowed to reach completion.

In Canada
Shockingly, more than 1,000 boil-water advisories are in place across Canada. Some of these water advisories have been in effect for decades resulting in third world living conditions for residents of these communities. Indigenous communities are those most commonly subjected to this appalling neglect.

Globally
February 2016 was the warmest ever on record.Arctic sea ice disappeared a record rates in January and February 2016 which will impact water temperatures and availability around the world.